Beyoncé Kicks Off Formation World Tour Tonight In Miami
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A near sellout crowd for Beyoncé's concert Wednesday night at Marlins Park is expected to put the facility's parking and traffic to the test.
The pop singer's Formation World tour is kicking off in Miami. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
Those who have tickets are being strongly encouraged to pre-purchase on-site parking at Marlins.com/Parking. Pre-purchasing parking passes is the only way to guarantee an on-site parking spot.
They are also urged to arrive early so they can make it to the show on time.
Click Here to see where the worst traffic back ups are located.
Gabriella Brissett arrived four hours before Beyoncé is scheduled to sing a note. She told CBS4's Natalia Zea, "It's Beyoncé! You've got to be on time for Beyoncé, you've got to be more than on time for Beyoncé."
Parking lots opened at 4:30 p.m. and Marlins Park entrances opened at 5:30 p.m.
Concert goers can expect roads leading to the park to be packed the closer it gets to show time.
For those who don't pre-purchase parking and plan on taking their chances, off-site parking and free shuttles to and from Marlins Park will be available. Off-site parking will be available at County and Government Center Garage at 220 NW 3rd Street. At the end of the show, free shuttles will pick up concert goers on NW 14th Avenue between NW 2nd Street and Flagler Street.
Also, there will be an on-site Uber lot at West Lot #2, located at corner of NW 16th Avenue and NW 5th Street for those guests preferring not to drive.
The concert drew controversy earlier this year when the head of the Fraternal Order of Police in Miami urged officers to boycott signing up to work off-duty security at the concert.
The head of the FOP, Javier Ortiz, called for it after "anti-police" message in her Super Bowl 50 performance.
Community leaders fired back, saying officers have a right to decide if they want to volunteer to work a security detail for the show and Beyoncé has a right to express herself. The Miami Community Police Benevolent Association criticized Ortiz's call for a boycott. The Miami-Dade Police Department said they are not taking part in the boycott.
Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes said more officers signed up for the concert detail than were needed.
"Have enough officers to staff it and we have enough officers to staff the regular patrol function outside the event, so everything will go on as normal and it will be a safe event," said the chief.
